We previously reported on November 16 that the teams decided to split into two groups, and that five of the nine buckets reported on November 14 would be done by the Advising Redesign Task Force. The Task Force was be charged with making recommendations for the larger table as a framework for contract language.
The Task Force met for half a day on December 4 and the full day on December 11. These were very productive sessions, and consensus was reached on recommendations for the following:
- Advisor Assignments
- Appointment Scheduling
- Advisor Training and Support
Advisor Location and Work Environment was briefly discussed, but the parties agreed to defer the conversation to the larger table in January.
The parties explored the issue of Communication within the Unit and Across Campus and determined that the issue was resolved- there was nothing further to explore by the task force.
On December 13, the Labor Management committee decided to allow the task force to continue their good work and explore the following on December 15:
- Advisor Roles and Responsibilities
- Personnel Evaluation and Supervision
Soon after the Labor Management committee meeting, however, key members of the administration bargaining team were unable to attend the December 15 task force meeting so it was cancelled.
We have 3 full days reserved for continued IBB bargaining on the matter in January: January 9, January 10, and January 18. If the Faculty Equity Workgroup is finished, we expect to convene the IBB table again the finish the issues deferred to the task force for December 15 as well as Advisor Location and Work Environment.
The teams are optimistic that we will be able to resolve the outstanding issues early in Winter Term.